The Infrastructure’s Guide ☆ 13

Early in the morning the next day, he awoke groggily when someone was calling him.

He squinted towards the cave's entrance. Zhong Yang stared at the thylacine Meng Sheng hadn't dragged in the night before.

"How come you're here so early?"

Zhong Yang lifted his head when he heard his voice. “Ah, I just got up. By the way, where did the thylacine come from?"

"Last night, it ran over to eat my pheasant. I killed it.”

"Then you peel the skin and put it into the cave. What if someone else took it away?" Zhong Yang said.

Meng Sheng was unconcerned, telling, "Take it away, just take it away."

“You! You! Most can’t find them even if they try. You’re attitude would have gotten you thrown out of the cave.” Zhong Yang drew out his stone tools. “You have no idea how many people in the tribe can’t get enough to eat. They die of starvation. I'll help you peel it off."

Meng Sheng didn't stop him either. Taking advantage of his efforts to skin the thylacine, he built a fire to heat up the leftover meat from the night before.

When the fat in the water had just melted down, Zhong Yang finished up and brought in the skinned thylacine.

"Look, its a little thin, but still has enough meat for a few meals."

“No, thanks. I don’t like the taste of its meat. If you like it, you can have it.”

"Ah, alright. I’ll later bring back equal portion of meat.

Meng Sheng then took a piece of meat from the pot, stuck it on a wooden stick, and handed it to Zhong Yang. “Would you like some?"

“I didn’t come for your breakfast.”

Meng Sheng snorted and took back the meat that had dangled by the Zhong Yang's nose. As he opened his mouth and was about to take a bite, Zhong Yang abruptly exclaimed: “Wait!”

"What?" Meng Sheng gave him a sideways look.

"It smells pretty good," Zhong Yang said as he rubbed his hands and laughed. “Thanks!” He quickly stuffed the meat into his mouth. Zhong Yang frowned and chewed twice. “This tastes really good!”

Meng Sheng helplessly shook his head. Some males were duplicitous, but their appetites were shockingly large. There wasn't a lot of meat left in the pot. He ate a piece and offered him some salty broth.

Zhong Yang then drank five big bowls of broth after finishing the meat and surprisingly felt full.

“Do you usually eat so little? Are you satisfied with just three kilograms of meat”

Meng Sheng rubbed his brow and punched Zhong Yang's pectoral muscles with his fist.

“You sure eat a lot.”

"Of course, powerful males consume a lot of food. You have strong breath. It's weird to eat so little, okay?” Zhong Yang got up and contentedly stretched before remembering something. "By the way, I came to hunt with you. You must first collect prey in order to attend the trade fair. Let’s exchange something!”

“Alright, I’ll hunt.”

“Many males and sub-females usually hunt in groups. It’s much safer this way as they can take care of each other. Originally, I couldn't find a suitable partner. After our last hunt together, I notice we had an immediate tacit understanding. I'd like to hunt with you again.” Zhong Yang enthusiastically suggested, hooking Meng Sheng's neck with his arm.

"You said there are sub-females who join groups?" Meng Sheng asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Yeah! Are you surprised?”

Meng Sheng burst out laughing. “Not surprised. Forget it; let's go, go hunting."

Since Zhong Yang wanted to be a long-term teammate with him, there was no other way for him to conceal his metal weapon, so he had no choice but to simply take it out.

After the two of them left the cave, Meng Sheng gave Zhong Yang a bunch of bones with meat scraps.

"You go and feed the bird, and I'll water my seedlings.”

Zhong Yang scooped up the bones and tossed them into the chicken enclosure. After a while of teasing the pheasants, he saw Meng Sheng watering a few small tree seedlings on the side and said, "Plant some berries if you want to plant something. This kind of fruit is extremely sour and tastes weird. Nobody has even named it.”

"What do you know." Meng Sheng retorted.

"It's finished, let's go."

Meng Sheng took the lead and led straight to Qiu Juan Cave.

Zhong Yang murmured after a while of walking. “This is the way tribe’s people live. Where will we hunt?”

He continued to walk on, ignoring Zhong Yang.

They quickly arrived at Qiu Juan's cave.

He stood outside and yelled twice. "Qiu Juan! Are you up yet?"

Qiu Juan dashed out of the cave as soon as the voice fell; judging from his lively appearance, he might have been awake for quite some time.

"Are you going to go hunting? Come along with us."

Hearing the invitation to hunt, Qiu Juan looked happy. "Okay, then! I haven't hunted in a long time. Wait a moment as I’ll go inside to get a weapon and speak with my mother."

Meng Sheng curled up his lips and waved at him: "Go ahead."

Zhong Yang crossed his arms. "I asked, where will we hunt, and it turned out to be Qiu Juan’s cave."

Meng Sheng slightly flushed and his heartbeat wasn't quite right. “Didn't you claim that there should be a sub-female in the group to make it safer?”

“No, I didn't. I said that many males and sub-females hunt in groups, but that doesn't mean that every group requires a sub-female.”

The two talked while Qiu Juan tidied up and Aunt Luo followed out.

"What were you talking about?" Qiu Juan asked, tilting his head.

Zhong Yang immediately shook his head. "It's nothing. I'm happy to hunt with you!”

“I have never hunted with Brother Zhong Yang." Qiu Juan said excitedly.

Aunt Luo observed them talk while saying nothing. Meng Sheng was watching Qiu Juan speak with Zhong Yang.

Zhong Yang asked nonchalantly, "Have you never hunted with me?"

For a brief moment, Qiu Juan was taken aback: "Yes."

Zhong Yang chuckled incoherently and put one hand on Meng Sheng's shoulder. "Let's go, Aunt Luo; don't worry about Qiu Juan; we'll take good care of him."

"Thank you both."

The two males slowed down tacitly with the sub-female present, and Zhong Yang proposed to lead. They went to the same area where the Ewing beast was hunted last time. There were very few hunters in that region.

"The area is more dangerous," Meng Sheng observed with apprehension.

Qiu Juan agreed with Zhong Yang: "I've only been there twice, so let's go over there." Seeing Meng Sheng's furrowed brows, he said more. "Don't worry, I'm not going to drag you."

The desire to hunt had enabled him forget about the discomfort in his foot. Previously, he only hunted by himself or with Kong Jia. This was his first time hunting with two powerful males. He cherished this opportunity very much.

“I didn’t mean that.”

Zhong Yang smiled and said: "Let's go, Qiu Juan agreed. If we come across a strong beast later, he can hide behind us.”

In the face of two against one, Meng Sheng had no choice but to give in and agree.

They arrived at their goal after crossing the slimy forest with a lot of moss underfoot. Zhong Yang told him that this forest was known as the Forest of Wild Beasts due to the repeated appearance of large beasts.

Everybody grew wary after entering the area. Meng Sheng directed Qiu Juan to walk behind the two. Previously, he had always relied on chance to meet the prey. This was his first time doing it deliberately.

Zhong Yang and Qiu Juan both had extensive hunting experience; while one investigated to see if the wild fruit that had fallen from the tree had been gnawed, the other searched for footprints on the ground.

Meng Sheng was the only one who had nothing to do except look at the weeds and touch the trees.

Suddenly, there was a rustle, and a fat bird flew over the grass.

"Pheasant!"

Zhong Yang chased it down and tossed his stone tool at it. The pheasant was terrified and cried, but it was not hurt by the stone tool.

"This pheasant is really clever." Zhong Yang was unhappy with the stone tool's miss.

Qiu Juan approached the pheasant on tiptoe, keeping his stone tool aloft: "Let me try it."

"The pheasant is already frightened, so I'm afraid it's not good…" Meng Sheng had not yet finished when he saw the stone tool flying at the pheasant with a whistle.

The fleeing pheasant suddenly somersaulted and flopped on the ground with a stone tool piercing its back.

Both Meng Sheng and Zhong Yang were stunned at the same time!

"You are so strong, Qiu Juan!"

"Since I am not as powerful as a male, I could only hunt small prey with precision."

Qiu Juan was embarrassed by the two's compliments and dashed off to get his own weapons and pheasant.

Meng Sheng chuckled lightly; the sub-female who hunted so seriously was very charming.

Zhong Yang accompanied Qiu Jiang forward, and from a distance, he saw a breathless pheasant on the grass. He made a lighthearted remark. "Oh, Qiu Juan, with such accuracy, you could easily strike Meng Sheng's heart!"

Qiu Jiang picked up his prey, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Meng Sheng enjoys raising chickens, and this morning he asked me to feed his brooding hens!"

"You really like to raise chickens?" Qiu Juan mused to Meng Sheng.

Meng Sheng did not deny, and nodded.

“How regrettable.” Qiu Juan looked at the fat pheasant in his hand apologetically, but then burst out laughing. “This one is a male, it can’t lay eggs.”

His surprise amused Meng Sheng.

Qiu Juan was overjoyed to learn of his interests. Last time, he picked orchid for him on the cliff. Until now, he had no idea how to repay him.

He patted his chest and made a promise.

“Now knowing you like to raise chickens, I’ll be sure to catch some alive and give them to you next time.”

“Then please accept my thanks in advance.”

Zhong Yang was dissatisfied. “We'll both catch birds for you, but what are you going to do?”

“You catch, I raise, remember?”

The three of them were chatting and laughing, unaware of the approaching footsteps. The beast had already extended its fangs behind Qiu Juan when they finally discovered a huge beast.

"Qiu Juan, watch out!" Meng Sheng dashed over and pushed Qiu Juan aside.

The two rolled away few laps.

Seeing that his food was running away, the beast wanted to catch up.

Zhong Yang hurriedly flicked around. Zhong Yang's weapon had been tossed aside when trying to hit the pheasant and had not yet been recovered. He no longer had any means of self-defense in his hands. He could only sprint on his legs to the heavily wooded forest, preventing the tall beast from catching up.

“Are you hurt?” Meng Sheng stood up and pulled Qiu Juan up as the beast was drawn away.

Qiu Juan's hand may have been fractured when rolling, but in the present situation, such an injury had to be dismissed.

"I'm fine, go and support Zhong Yang."

“You stay behind and stay safe. I’m afraid, I can’t look after you.”

"Don't worry, it's okay."

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[TN: For the time being, I translate when I have time and post it when it's done, so this is my fastest pace. Since English is my second language, it often takes me longer just to find the right words. I'm sorry for those that have to wait.]